The money from companies is used to meet current pension demands while personal payments are accumulated for his or her own future pension after retirement.

However, as China's population ages, personal payments are often used to supplement growing current pension demands.

According to a research report by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, by the end of 2011, more than 2 trillion yuan in the personal pension account was transferred to pay retirees.

Since 2011, pilot trials in northern China's Liaoning, Heilongjiang and 11 other provinces have been set up to ensure the personal pension account is untapped. However, little progress has been made due to fiscal problems.

Debate over changing the retirement age, complaints over differentiated insurance policies for government and non-government employees and doubts about the amount in the pension pot have all influenced people to stop paying social insurance halfway through.

A post on a forum on SZnews.com claiming a personal monthly deposit of 500 yuan in a bank would pay better than paying social insurance went viral in early November. It caused public anxiety.

"After thirty years of monthly deposits of 500 yuan, one would receive about 3,400 yuan per month with interest. Why is it necessary to bother the country for our pension?" netizen Wangbufuzhao said in the post.

However, the picture is not that rosy, said Ye Tan, a commentator on economics, citing that inflation, economic cycle fluctuation and other risks may compromise a stable and reassuring post-retirement life.